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Turn a corner in downtown Sacramento and you might come face to face with a 65-foot orangutan dangling from a building, a flock of Technicolor jungle birds, or a giant squid duking it out with a supersize pelican.

With the backing and blessing of community leaders and businesses citywide, some of the best muralists in the world — including art-world darlings like Axel Void and Shepard Fairey — are transforming the state capital into a giant plein air gallery. And to see it, all you need to do it is look up.

It’s part of an art-for-all renaissance fueled by Sacramento’s Wide Open Walls event, which wrapped earlier this month. This year’s weeklong art extravaganza (the first was in 2016) brought the number of festival murals to over 100.

“I’m passionate about this town, and I’m passionate about art and artists,” says David Sobon, founder and producer of Wide Open Walls. An unwavering cheerleader for the transformative power of art, Sobon has a vision of “filling the city with major works of art. It gives people something to be proud of here.”

Sobon is a master fundraiser and is able to generate enough sponsors to pay his artists a decent wage, plus cover all materials, transportation and expenses. He also works year-round to get buy-in from landlords and businesses willing to house new murals. “The better we plan,” he says, “the better it works out.”

And he’s not alone, notes Ulich. Major installations are cropping up citywide, including pieces for the Sacramento Convention Center (now under renovation) and outdoor art — including a colorful Jeff Koons sculpture — at the new Downtown Commons complex.

The city also has a burgeoning arts district, known as the R Street Corridor, where historic rail yards and industrial buildings now house galleries, studios and artist lofts, plus boutiques, eateries, bars and clubs.

But it’s the murals that seem to be truly transforming the city. “We’ve got all these cool old Victorians and bungalows, then we’ve got these crappy buildings built for government agencies,” says muralist Maren Conrad, an established fine arts painter who switched mediums when she did her first mural, a 35-foot-long showstopper near the city’s original train station (see #5, right) for the premiere of Wide Open Walls. “Now we’re turning these ugly, lifeless buildings into art that everyone can see, and that’s pretty cool.”

9 Must-See Murals

Get a taste of Sacramento’s on-fire art scene with a tour of its eye-catching murals. To get around, consider hopping aboard a JUMP e-bike or a Lime electric scooter — easier, faster, and more fun than driving — to find these and other eye-popping creations. For an interactive map to more than 100 murals around town, go here.

Photo: Michael Macor / Special To The Chronicle

Mural by Apexer at 711 J St. in downtown Sacramento.

Mural by Apexer at 711 J St. in downtown Sacramento.

Micah Crandall-Bear Mural, 730 R St.

A classic studio painter, the Sacramento-based artist recreated a piece he’d done in his studio when he painted this elegant circle. His works, often with linear layers and landscape details hinting at daily and seasonal shifts in light, aim to have us pause and admire the wild and natural world around us.

Photo: Michael Macor / Special To The Chronicle

Mural by Jorit Agoch is part of the art project “Wide Open Walls” in downtown Sacramento.

Mural by Jorit Agoch is part of the art project “Wide Open...

Jorit Agoch Mural, 1117 J St.

This hypnotic image of an Aboriginal child looms above a gritty parking lot now called Mural Square. With streaks of tribal paint on the child’s face, and mystical symbols in the surrounding blackness, the hyper-realistic portrait hints at the Italian-born artist’s fascination with the messages and emotions our faces convey.

“Mother Earth,” 1121 15th St.

When identical twins Raoul and Davide Perre, known as the artistic team of How & Nosm, created this extraordinary remarkable mural titled Mother Earth, “it was absolute craziness to watch,” says Wide Open Walls founder and producer David Sobon. “The twins communicate telepathically, going off the same design in their brains. They move up and down, not talking, just painting. Incredible.”

Photo: Michael Macor / Special To The Chronicle

Mural by Mateus Bailon is part of the art project "Wide Open Walls" in downtown Sacramento, Ca., on Mon. August 5, 2019. This piece is at 1225 R St.

Mural by Mateus Bailon is part of the art project "Wide Open Walls"...

Mateus Bailon Mural, 1225 R St.

A nondescript transit building along the R Street Corridor got a vibrant makeover with a flock of fantastical birds — and, if you look closely, California’s signature bear. Born in Brazil, Bailon uses nature as a visual language to reveal his own nature, giving life to amazing creatures — especially his trademark birds — on walls around the world.

Shepard Fairey Mural, 1517 L St.

One of the most influential contributors to the street art movement, this American artist pushes his own brand of social awareness through his instantly recognizable images. Like his “Hope” campaign posters for then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, this towering recreation of Johnny Cash’s Live at Folsom Prison album cover carries an unmistakable message — in this case putting the focus on prisoner rights.

Waylon Horner Mural, 3402 Broadway

Known for his cartoonish, balloon-like shapes in bold colors, this Sacramento-based artist created this entertaining mural to spice up a nondescript playground. While you might try to figure it out, don’t go to the artist for answers: Horner doesn’t aim to convey a direct message in his pieces, instead wanting viewers to draw their own conclusions.

Photo: Michael Macor / Special To The Chronicle

Bordalo II’s mural in the alley behind 725 J St. in downtown Sacramento.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure — or another man’s six-story orangutan mother and her baby. This world-renowned Portuguese “trash artist” recycles discarded metal and other found objects to create epic, animalistic art around the world — Bordalo II’s way of bringing attention to environmental waste and destruction.

“It Was Only A Dream,” 730 R St.

No wonder this is one of Sacramento’s most popular murals for selfies. Created in just 36 hours, this remarkable image sweeps you into the world of a sleeping beauty, floating in a turquoise world and wrapped in a blanket that hints at the artist’s many trips to India. Originally from New Mexico, artist Miles Toland now resides in nearby Nevada City.

Maren Conrad Mural, 1050 20th St.

This is the mural that transformed a career. Studio artist Conrad had never done a mural when she said she’d take on this grungy, block-long wall bordering active railroad tracks. She’s never looked back, and now defines herself as a muralist, with pieces that transform gritty, forgotten corners into thoughtful and breathtaking works of art.